Volume 3 Chapter 13 The Assassin
The weather that day was cloudy and gloomy.
The three of us walked from the quiet streets of the upscale residential area to the main street. It seemed like there were fewer people than usual, as if anticipating rain.
Without any particular reason to be there, we turned off from the main street onto a quieter road. As we entered such a road, it felt like stepping into a different world, with the return of tranquility.
"Oh! A park! Moruru wants to go to the park!"
As we walked a bit off the main road, Moruru keenly spotted a park. After glancing at Ice and me, I nodded.
"Ah, sounds good. Let's go to the park then."
We entered the park. Even here, there were no people around. I let go of Moruru's hand, who seemed restless, while keeping an eye on the sky.
"Wow!"
Moruru ran out at that moment. I called out to her, "Don't leave the park!", then she settled down on a nearby chair after hearing a response of "Okay!"
Ice sat down next to me.
"Moruru, I'm glad you seem well..."
"Yeah, I'm fine. It seems like you're not too worried about what happened earlier."
"...I think you are worried, Wade-kun. But Moruru is really smart, so maybe by acting cheerful like that, she's cheering us up."
I was impressed by Ice's words. I had been by Moruru's side a lot, but Ice's analysis, always sticking close by, was much deeper than mine.
"Moruru has good ears. She might even hear our conversations and understand everything."
"Hehe... That would be interesting, right?"
We were laughing softly. Moruru, while showing some concern towards us, was hopping around in the distance, trying to appeal to us.
"Papa! Mama!"
I turned around and took a deep breath.
I felt some tension release from my shoulders. It seems the idea of a change of mood was the right one.
At that moment, Ice spoke up.
"Hey, Wade-kun... The rune, it's glowing, isn't it...?"
"Huh?"
I was told to look down at my forearm. The rune of the trial I carved was shining.
Immediately, I looked towards Moruru. Moruru was running towards us. However, there was a sense of urgency in her expression.
"Moruru! Use all your power! But make sure to use it wisely when needed!"
I shouted as I used [Point Shift] to quickly approach Moruru. I embraced her. Moruru was trembling slightly.
"What happened?"
"Wh-what's that, huh? A presence?"
"A presence?"
At the moment I repeated, a sound of shattering came from the direction of the chair where Ice was sitting. Looking over, there was a mysterious man swinging a sword towards the chair and Ice, who had jumped back and drawn a rapier.
"Ice!"
"I'm fine...! ---Who are you? What, who are you. What's your purpose?"
To Ice's words, the swordsman in black did not respond. Instead, he took out a necklace from his chest.
It was a strange necklace. It had a shape that resembled only the handle of a knife. It seemed to be made of copper from its gleam.
The man manipulated it somehow, making a clinking sound.
From the necklace that was just a handle, the blade part popped out. Instantly, a strong feeling of "wanting to get away from this place" and at the same time "not being able to escape" surged.
"Copper stealth weapon adventurer."
He says, holding up an adventurer's badge of a type I've never heard of.
"By the order of the master, I shall challenge. Now, let's have a fair fight."
With the declaration, the man vanished. Ice hesitated, and I took a deep breath.
"Ice! When you can't see, it means he has a mechanism that prevents the enemy from detecting him! In other words, if you have a mechanism to detect the enemy, you can respond!"
"Got it!"
Upon my advice, Ice knelt down. Then, she placed her hands on the ground and chanted.
"Ice Blow!"
A field of ice spread around Ice for several meters. With this, the area around Ice became like an automatic capture net. There were no enemies that could attack Ice on the ground.
For now, it's safe to assume that Ice's body is protected. It's my turn to defeat the enemy. I closed my eyes and listened carefully.
"Papa...?"
"Don't worry, Moruru."
I smiled with my eyes closed.
"There's no copper-tier adventurer physically stronger than you. We spar with you every day, right? ---Papa won't lose."
I patted Moruru's head with my left hand. Then, I swung my right hand.
"Right. Stealth Weapon Adventurer."
A swift blow enhanced with [Weight Increase] struck down the assailant like a mace blow.
"What...!?"
"Even if you hide with magic, it's obvious otherwise. From what I couldn't visually see, are you of the dark attribute? It makes sense with the stealth weapons."
I closed in on the startled stealth weapon guy and delivered a Weight Increase body blow. Breathless. Then, I said, "Object Weight Reduce," and lifted him up.
"Ugh, damn! Weren't you just a newbie who recently graduated...! Ugh..."
"Basically, that's correct. But if your boss sent you to us based on such information, it means either your boss didn't do enough research or they were planning to get rid of you."
Listen carefully, okay? I emphasized.
"We defeated a chimera in the dungeon at graduation, took down a Nightfather executive, and recently hunted and delivered five dragons."
The shady guy held his breath upon hearing that. I continued to get to the point.
"Hey. You're aiming for Moruru, right? It's so obvious from the way you're looking around. You came to take something that's beyond your league, but too bad. I won't lose to someone like you."
As he listened to me, the shady guy's eyes quickly turned from surprise to fear as if facing a monster. He shouted, "Let go, let go!" but the resistance of a man as light as air was no match.
"So, in the end, who sent you here? If you spill that, I'll let you go. And while you're at it, tell your boss that someone like you is no match for us."
"Ugh...!"
The shady guy grabbed my wrist with trembling hands, trying to do something. Sensing his intentions, I shook him off. His improper way of swinging almost gave him a concussion.
"Ah...!"
"Come on, speak up. It'll be easier if you do. I'll help you. Now, speak!"
"------"
Then, something unexpected happened.
"...Huh?"
I noticed that the man's strength suddenly left him. Did he faint? I doubted it, as something seemed off. Ice, sensing something, rushed over and cast a 'recovery' rune on the man.
Still, the man didn't respond. As we widened our eyes in shock, the adventurer's badge of the shady guy burst.
From the adventurer's badge, darkness leaked out. It enveloped the man, swallowed him, and then he completely disappeared.
We could only watch in astonishment.
"Uh... um, hey, the man."
Moruru looked scared as she spoke. I lifted Moruru up and gently patted her back.
"Moruru, don't be too nice. Don't show mercy even to enemies. Don't be too kind. Be kind only to allies and family. If you're kind to enemies, they will take advantage of you. When that happens, Moruru will end up feeling sad."
"...Hmm."
Moruru buried her face in my chest. I turned to Ice with a troubled expression and shrugged, saying, "Being a parent is tough, huh?"
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